AB1804-HPR IMPROVING PATIENT SAFETY THROUGH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PHARMACIST-LED BLOOD MONITORING CLINIC FOR JAK INHIBITORS IN RHEUMATOLOGY
Authors: M. Murphy, J. Whiteman, N. Maiden, S. Walker, V. Mcgoldrick, N. Liggett, E. Savage, R. Stewart, L. A. Neville, E. Wylie, C. Mcateer, L. A. MC Williams, S. Mccourt, A. Mcmullan, D. Dermott, J. Mcknight
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2023)

<h3>Background</h3> Janus kinase inhibitors drugs (JAKi) are novel small molecule medications known to cause abnormalities such as elevations in hepatic transaminases, decreases in neutrophil and lymphocyte counts and elevations in cholesterol and creatinine kinase. Blood monitoring is recommended and dose adjustments are advised if abnormalities arise. Recent warnings by the EMA and MHRA have highlighted the importance of monitoring these medications. Timely review and management of patients on JAKi drugs is difficult to maintain with increasing workload amongst the rheumatology team. A baseline audit (2020) demonstrated that hospital blood monitoring guidelines for JAKi drugs were not being followed. The rheumatology multidisciplinary team met and utilised Quality Improvement methodology including fish and driver diagrams to address this. This led to the creation of a pharmacist-led JAKi blood monitoring clinic. <h3>Objectives</h3> To establish a pharmacist-led rheumatology blood monitoring clinic for the JAKi drug class in order to: increase patient safety with increased compliance to blood monitoring, save consultant/nurse time, improve communication with primary care on the frequency of blood testing required, increase patient understanding of the importance of blood monitoring with JAKi drugs, reinforce counselling advice such as risk of infections, shingles and thrombosis and promote medication adherence. <h3>Methods</h3> The clinic was established in March 2021. Patients commencing JAKi drugs are referred to the pharmacist-led clinic by the medical team. The pharmacist contacts the patient by phone following delivery of their medication. The patient is counselled on their new medication and dates for blood checks are agreed. A letter is sent to the patient and their GP providing this information. The patient is booked into virtual telephone appointments and bloods are monitored every month for the first 3 months and every 3 months thereafter. Any change or abnormality in blood results are flagged early in the patient's treatment and if necessary, discussed with the consultant. Adjustments are made to the patient's dose if appropriate. <h3>Results</h3> In order to evaluate the benefit of the pharmacist clinic a re-audit of compliance with blood monitoring (March 2021- September 2022) was carried out alongside a patient satisfaction postal survey (August 2022). A total of 58 patients were sampled in the re-audit. The re-audit found an increase in compliance in blood monitoring since the introduction of the pharmacist clinic. 98% of patients had their full blood count performed at 3 months compared to 56% in audit 1 and 95% of patients had their lipid profile completed at 3 months compared to 15% in audit 1 (Table 1). A patient satisfaction survey (N=62, response rate 48%) found that 28 (93%) patients either agreed or strongly agreed that they were more aware of the importance of attending for regular blood monitoring when prescribed JAKi therapy as a result of the clinic. The pharmacy team made several significant interventions (self-graded Eadon grade 4 and 5). For example by improving medication adherence, detecting haematological abnormalities that required JAKi dose reduction, identifying patients suffering from infection requiring intervention including shingles and Covid-19. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Introduction of the pharmacist-led clinic has increased patient safety by ensuring compliance with blood monitoring as per hospital guidelines. The clinic has paved the way for improved communication with primary care teams and has provided patients with extra support during their first months on treatment with their JAKi. It has also expanded the role of the rheumatology pharmacy team and saved nursing and medical time. <h3>Acknowledgements</h3> I wish to thank the SHSCT Rheumatology team for all their help, support and guidance with this project. <h3>Disclosure of Interests</h3> None Declared.